Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
Car, truck and motorcycle collisions happen all over our state, from Bowie and Rockville to Baltimore, Annapolis and over in Washington, D.C. The common thread that each of these incidents usually have in common is that people, innocent men, women and children are hurt during traffic accidents. Whether those injuries are minor (such as simple cuts, bruises and abrasions) or severe (e.g., compound fractures of the arm or leg, traumatic head injury or spinal cord damage) usually depends on a number of factors, such as speed of the vehicles, angle of the collision, age of the passengers, safety equipment in use on the vehicle involved.
As personal injury lawyers practicing in Maryland, we are trained to represent victims of automobile and commercial trucking accidents, as well as other instances of injury caused by a negligent individual or individuals. When severe or critical injuries are involved, we know that the victims’ families can quickly feel the financial pressure of various medical and hospital treatment costs. In addition to the obvious physical injuries, victims can also experience the emotional side effects of a serious car truck or pedestrian accident.
Nearly anyone who has had first-hand experience with a bad traffic collision would likely say that it is not an event that they would want to go through ever again. Especially in cases of high-speed or multi-vehicle collisions on an expressway or freeway, the impact energy can be much greater than that felt in a low-speed fender-bender. The point here is that bodily harm from a major car or truck crash can be many times more serious, and sometimes fatal, than a collision that takes place in a parking garage.
Victims of high-speed roadway collisions experience in only a few seconds the violent energy of another vehicle hitting their vehicle either from the front or side. When this happens, head trauma and other critical injuries are no uncommon. Roadway deaths are often a result of such highway wrecks, depending on the circumstances, and can certainly alter the survivors’ lives for years to come, if not forever.
A recent Maryland court case barely had begun when the defendant pled guilty to the fatal crash that killed his passenger back in the summer of 2011. According to news reports, 25-year-old Jade C. Jackson admitted fault in the automobile accident that killed one man and seriously injured two others in the car. Based on evidence introduced by the prosecution, the defendant’s blood contained PCP (technically known as phencyclidine), which according to the prosecution left Jackson unable to safely operate the vehicle on the day of the crash.
Police reports indicated that Jackson was driving along a stretch of the Baltimore-Washington Pkwy last July 7 in a vehicle carrying three other occupants. A concerned citizen in another vehicle apparently dialed 911 after watching Jackson’s vehicle swerve and then go out of control. During that 911 call, the other driver reportedly saw Jackson’s car accelerate, hit a roadside guardrail, bounce off and go back across the roadway, lose complete control and then crash into some nearby trees. The deceased victim was seated in the left-hand rear seat of the car, and apparently took the brunt of the crash.
As a result of his guilty plea, the defendant faces a maximum prison sentence of eight years for vehicular manslaughter, as well as another six months in prison plus a $5,000 fine for operating a motor vehicle under a revoked driver’s license. His sentencing is scheduled for August 1.
Jade Clayton Jackson of Burtonsville, Md., pleads guilty in July 2011 crash on BW Parkway; WUSA9.com, April 27, 2012